Second shark attack at Margaret River!

Hours after a Great White attack at Cobblestones, a surfer is hit by a White at nearby Lefthanders…

I doubt if it’s a stretch to call today’s twin attacks by Great Whites in Margaret River unprecedented. Five or so hours after Argentinian surfer Alejandro Travaglini was airlifted from Cobblestones, a reef peak near the site of the Margaret River Pro, after being hit by a four-metre Great White, another surfer was been hit by a White, this time at Lefthanders.

That name ring a bell? It’s the same joint Brad Smith was surfing in 2004 when he was hit by a pair of Great Whites.

Denmark (WA) surfer Jason Longgrass, who is 41, reckoned he was “having a ball” at the beach, which was closed because of the earlier shark attack, when the Great White, estimated at four-metres long, hit his board. Hard to blame him for being out. It was a classic south-west afternoon: offshore easterly winds, a four-to-six-foot swell, air temps scratching the high-twenties.

“It was bee-lining straight at me, I went to slap the water and by then he made a sudden acceleration and then just nailed the board,” Longrass told reporters. “I don’t normally surf the place but it was uncrowded. I didn’t know why. I heard there was a shark around and I thought, yes, there are sharks in the ocean, kept surfing and the boat’s calling everyone in and I hung out there for a little longer than everyone else and…whammo…”

“It swam under a couple of guys and came around and bit a third person… It was a large shark and from the way it was behaving, it would have been a white pointer. All the other surfers swam to him, helped him get away from his board and leg rope and helped him get on a wave, and luckily [he] caught a wave onto the reef. The surfers that helped him in got tourniquets on his legs as soon as they got on the shallow reef, and then other people came down from the carpark and put him onto a surfboard and carried him up to the carpark.”

Despite the twin attacks, it ain’t entirely surprising. There’s a ton of people in the water. The Western Australian Salmon, which can hit nine kilos, and is a favourite of sharks, are spawning and, for whatever reasons, the coastline is dotted with beached pilot whales, including one at Lefthanders.

Shark Attack Puts Margaret River Pro on hold!

An Argentinian surfer has been flown to Perth from Margaret River after a shark attack two hours ago at Cobblestones, a hollow reef peak near Margaret River. The man, in his thirties, was reported by paramedics to be “conscious and breathing.”

Friends of the man used leg-ropes to stanch leg wounds.

The surf photographer Peter Jovic, who saw the attack, told the ABC, “There was a lot more thrashing around. After that it was hard to see what was going on. [I] saw the guy who had been attacked get separated from the [surf] board and then start to paddle for an inside wave, which he managed to body surf all the way in. They got him to shore and started working on him to stem the bleeding.”

“The World Surf League (WSL) has been alerted to a shark incident that occurred near Gracetown. The safety of our surfers and staff is a top priority for the WSL. We have mitigation protocols in place and will be enhancing those when competition resumes.”

The, ah, women will resume round two when the contest restarts at 10:40, local time with “further enhanced safety measures, including ski and drone presence.”

In 2004, Brad Smith, who was 24, was killed by a shark while surfing at the nearby reef, Lefthanders.

In 2010, Nick Edwards, who was 31, was killed by a shark while surfing South Point, across the Bay from yesterday’s competition at North Point.

In 2011, the bodyboarder Kyle Burden, who was 21, was killed at Bunker Bay, a short drive around the Cape.

In 2013, Chris Boyd, who was 35, was killed by a shark while surfing at Umbies, near Cobblestones.

Meanwhile, Hamelin Bay, which is fifty clicks down the road remains closed after a mass whale beaching resulted in the deaths of more than 140 short finned pilot whales.

“There were concerns over the weekend that the carcasses could attract sharks,” reported the Guardian Express.

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Judging: Is there an anti-American bias?

The tour is in Australia (still) with an almost all-Australian judging panel!

Are you caught in the rapture of this third event on tour, the Margaret River Pro, with its baffling fails and swamps of mediocrity? Is your favorite surfer still swinging for the fences with a chance to take it all home or is your favorite surfer an American and possibly being ruled against by the judges based solely on his nationality?

Oh I’m not suggesting or even hinting that there is bias in the judging tower but it was brought to my attention that the only American judge on the this leg either had to go home from Western Australia or was never there in the first place leaving only Australian judges with a sprinkle of Brazilian judge too.

Now, I believe that these fine men check their flags at the door and only see shades of 7.8 and 6.3 once seated in their cubicles but did Australia’s Connor O’Leary really beat America’s Patrick Gudauskas in Round 2 Heat 10?

Patrick was looking very fierce on this forehand while Connor shucked and jived backside. Sometimes, I believe, picking between a solid front hand and a decent back hand is like picking between apples and oranges and maybe the judges had this problem too but how did Connor shake out as the winner? I’ve watched the heat now three full times and I don’t see it. Patrick looks slightly better each and every time. He looks like the better professional surfer.

Is this my own bias showing through? Oh I hope not. I think of myself as a man of the world, an inspiration to peoples from Cairo to Coolangatta, but maybe… maybe there’s a touch of jingoistic pride buried in there? A blind spot?

Maybe.

But look at Patrick Gudauskas. Watch him surf and watch Australian Connor O’Leary surf and tell me who won. Of course Connor O’Leary won but tell me who won won.

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Prior to that wildcards Kael Walsh and Mikey Wright (pictured) took out Wilko and Ace. It was obvious by that point, and reinforced through the day, that no-one had learnt the lessons of last year and tried to replicate the JJF line going right at Mainbreak. You really would think they would have studied the videotape, learned to draw the bottom turn a little earlier before the flat faced wave with it's lack of what George Greenough calls “bottom tension” ate up all their speed and initiated the high speed top turn arc earlier. But no. No students of the game on show today. | Photo: WSL

Margs, Day 3: “A swamp of mediocrity!”

What works great as a live event sucks donkey dongs as a broadcast product.

Do you have a favourite cause, something you champion? Something lodged deep in your heart? I have two: orangutans and the Kurds.

The thought of those wise old men of the forest getting burnt to death so sanctimonious vegans can get fat on palm oil saturated bikkies drives me wild. Even worse, those Pashmerga babes who made ISIS cry for their mummies now getting hung outto dry by the west so a bunch of recycled jihadis backed by Turkey can overrun their beautiful gender neutral society just kills me. For real. If I had any bottle I would don the fatigues and jump the next plane to Kirkuk. I already have the camo.

But I’m thinking I, we; we being the ambivalent surf fan might have to champion a different cause. That cause being the Australian leg of the Pro Tour, maybe even pro surfing itself, because all leg it has looked, today included, on very shaky ground. Unable to lift itself out of a swamp of mediocrity, trapped in a dreadful paradox.

The disconnect between what the public is viewing, what they say is their experience of the product, what the judges are seeing and the hype being put out by the WSL media machine which controls the broadcast is growing and reaching critical levels. The judges are saying it is fair to mediocre, the public agrees and the WSL is still stuck on a loop of “best ever, historic day, incredible action etc”

That paradox, heretofore unmentioned, is that the Australian pro surf contest has evolved hand in hand with the state, deriving funding for its ability to drive tourism and put bums on seats in regional areas. It works brilliantly doing that. People show up for the spectacle and the atmosphere and the surf contest bubbles away in the background.

What works great as a live event sucks donkey dongs as a broadcast product. A paradox with no resolution in sight. And seeing as the WSL has already shown that a contest – even the acknowledged best one on Tour, Fiji – is not viable without state backing we are in a quandary. Stay with the status quo, take the government money for the bums on seats and bore the global audience witless or take a chance on something new and risk all that juicy, guaranteed taxpayer underwriting. There’s no easy option there unless they want the next 10 years to look like the last 10 and Sophie G has already said that is not an option.

The disconnect between what the public is viewing, what they say is their experience of the product, what the judges are seeing and the hype being put out by the WSL media machine which controls the broadcast is growing and reaching critical levels. The judges are saying it is fair to mediocre, the public agrees and the WSL is still stuck on a loop of “best ever, historic day, incredible action etc”

Between the idea and the reality falls the shadow. Sooner or later, unless Ziff is happy for a conga line of CEO’s to pass through the revolving door, reality must be faced.

Four heats went by this morning in wobbly, mostly flat-faced, morning-sick Margaret River Main Break before two Brazilian goofyfooters, thank God for Brazilian goofyfooters, lit it up and provided premium entertainment. Miguel Pupo, my favourite goofyfoot for years came out with the best wave of the contest as his opening gambit; just a beautifully smooth high-speed, top-to -ottom piece of edge work. But he couldn’t quite find anything equally amazing to back it up and Italo hunted him down with brutal closing manoeuvres before spiking a set wave for the win. Sad. To see Miguel go so early. If anyone has looked world title material, apart from the no show at North Point, it is Italo. But you still get the feeling none of this may matter years end, that the tour hasn’t really kicked off, and remains in some strange sort of limbo.

Prior to that, wildcards Kael Walsh and Mikey Wright took out Wilko and Ace. It was obvious by that point, and reinforced through the day, that no-one had learnt the lessons of last year and tried to replicate the JJF line going right at Mainbreak. You really would think they would have studied the videotape, learned to draw the bottom turn a little earlier before the flat faced wave with its lack of what George Greenough calls “bottom tension”ate up all their speed and initiated the high-speed, top-turn arc earlier. But no. No students of the game on show today. Sure, Bourez looked powerful enough in one of the better performances of the day but it was well down on expected levels.

I thought Seabass summed it up when in the booth, talking about his own performances and how he was frustrated with plateauing and not improving. He was asked how he could improve and he shrugged his shoulders, he had shades on, maybe baked?, and quipped “I dunno, train harder, eat better, stretch?” That just produces more meat and potatoes. It’s something else required here. An imaginative act. Not an athletic one. Thing is,no imagination required now, JJF left a template to follow.

Do I sound frustrated?

I couldn’t imagine the judges are filled with serotonin and dopamine after a another long, long day of pro surfing with a single wave in the excellent range. Count it. One. That’s hard graft for judges, surf journalists and an online audience alike. The numbers don’t lie and the numbers are terrible.

Joan Duru looked very strong in the last heat of the day. Dark horse pick.

John Florence comes up against Mikey Wright in round three. That will be the litmus test as to whether Florence is back on the pony proper or still lost in his own mind noise.

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Look: Another celeb goes to Surf Ranch!

I’m tired of this, damn it. Sick and tired. Spring has sprung, the weather is warming, gender fluid teenagers are falling in love. It is a beautiful, beautiful time to be alive but I have not been able to enjoy any of it and do you know why? Well do you? It is because of Surf Ranch, damn it. Surf Ranch in Lemoore, California.

Spring also means the gates to Kelly Slater’s phantasm are open once again and the World Surf League is on a mission to have it on the tips of peoples’ tongues, always in their hearts, and therefore a new celebrity is being rolled out every week.

Every week.

Do you know how exhausting this is for the surf journalist? Well do you? Let me tell you. It is exhausting. There I am, at the end of my day with barely enough energy to even mix a cocktail. Totally spent having broken stories on Mick Fanning’s un-retirement and going deep into surf coaching. All I want is that cocktail that I barely have enough energy to mix. That cocktail and a mindless jaunt through Instagram.

So peaceful. So nice. There’s Luke Davis traveling somewhere new. There’s the kook of the day. There’s the New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees on a little Surf Ranch nugget and The Inertia has already pounced writing that Drew Brees got “pitted out of his mind.” I don’t think The Inertia knows what “pitted” means.

Son of a bitch.

My surf journalist heart begins to pound. It beats, “This is a story. This is a story. This is story.”

Now that the World Surf League has trapped the allure of the ocean in a controlled environment, one where celebrities can look ok surfing, they can roll this out again and again and again, dominating the news’ cycle, staying on top of the feed. I can feel Senior Vice President of Global Brand Identity Dave Prodan sneering at me from atop his gilded knock-off Aeron chair. Sneering at me and thinking he has a collar wrapped around my neck while he tugs the leash.

Well, I’m not giving in, World Surf League. I am not going to dutifully report every single celebrity that attends Surf Ranch this spring/summer.